Lawmaker defends comments Muslim group calls ‘racist’

A Tennessee lawmaker is responding to accusations she posted racist comments on social media.

On a Facebook post referring to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urging potential Republican presidential candidates to reject Islamophobia and reach out to American Muslim voters, State Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) wrote: “It is time for a Council on Christian Relations and an NAAWP in this Country.”

The reference to “NAAWP” appears to refer to the National Association for the Advancement of White People, which is a twist on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

CAIR called the comment racist, saying the NAAWP term has been used by several white supremacist organizations in the past. Former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke at one time headed a group called the NAAWP.

However, Rep. Butt told News 2 her comment refers instead to “Western People.”

“I made up that acronym at that moment,” said Butt. “And you would see in the next post that I posted that it concerned Western Peoples and Western Culture. So for David Duke to have made that acronym or used that acronym years ago, certainly I was totally unaware of that.”

Butt also issued a statement regarding the comment. It read in full:

“It saddens me that we have come to a place in our society where every comment by a conservative is automatically scrutinized as being racist. Instead of realizing my post was actually about making sure that every race, religion, gender, and culture has a seat at the table, liberal groups have once again incorrectly and falsely jumped the gun. It seems to me that if we could take the focus off of race, as I am convinced the Lord does, we could better solve the problems in our state and nation that face every single one of us.”

CAIR, which is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, is calling on Tennessee Republican Party leaders to repudiate the comment.

Tennessee GOP Chairman Chris Devaney responded.

“Voters elected Republicans to focus on job growth, education reform, and to eliminate government waste,” said Devaney. “Representative Butt’s comments are her own and do not reflect the views of the Republican Party.”

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini also spoke about the issue. She said, “At a time when nearly 300,000 hardworking Tennesseans don’t have health care because Republicans refuse to support Insure Tennessee, it is disappointing to see Rep. Butt spending her time spreading her own poisonous personal beliefs on Facebook instead of focusing on passing legislation that would help hundreds of thousands of hardworking Tennesseans across the state.”

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